China Community Garden’s first year a success

Barry MacmIllan and Marie Michaud planting tomatoes for the China Food Pantry. (photo by Jude Hsiang)

by Jude Hsiang

Last October China resident James Hsiang met with Town Manager Becky Hapgood to propose a community garden. Her response was enthusiastic, and Hsiang wrote up a plan based on his experience at a community garden in a small Connecticut town. The garden would be built and managed by volunteers with support from the town government. Hapgood suggested that the garden, if approved by the Select Board, would become a project of the China For a Lifetime Committee which relies entirely on volunteers to improve quality of life for community members of all ages. The garden would be built on town property, and a fee of $25, $15 for seniors, would cover the season’s rental of each four-foot x eight-foot bed . A raised bed in a community garden can provide a surprising amount of vegetables, herbs, and flowers and is also a source of exercise, education, and camaraderie for people who may not have growing space, sufficient sunlight, or ability to garden without assistance.

Ed Hasselman pouring dirt into the raised beds. (photo by Jude Hsiang)

When the select board approved Hsiang’s plan in January 2025, planning and fundraising began. Several people immediately joined the effort, including Jean Marquis, a select board member and advisor to the China for a Lifetime Committee, along with committee members Marie Michaud, Sandra Isaac, and Eric Austin. The committee provided seed money to begin the building process. Tom Michaud offered space in his farm’s workshop for volunteers to build 36 raised beds which were moved to the garden’s location for temporary storage. The location just south of the Town Office included a disused well and a barn used by the Public Works Department and was also the site of a skating rink during the winter of 2025.

When spring arrived, the garden was laid out with help from Mark Hasselman whose brother Ed brought a tractor to fill the beds. Scott Brown brought his tractor and auger to set the fence posts, encountering some challenges with the ledges in the area. Local folks had begun reserving garden beds and helped with the fencing and preparing the beds. By late May, planting had begun even though the gardeners had to wait a couple of weeks for the old well to be revived and a pump installed in the barn. Several members transported large water jugs to fill the gardener’s watering cans. Soon the Public Works Department had finished digging a trench from the well and the water was turned on.

Sherry Spaulding, Marion Chasteen, and James Hsiang applying a coat of paint to the storage shed. (photo by Jude Hsiang)

Twenty-eight raised beds were rented and the remaining eight were reserved for growing food for the China Food Pantry with seedlings and seeds provided by Bill Powell and others. The tomatoes, broccoli, zucchini, sweet and hot peppers, and string beans were grown for the food pantry by the member gardeners. A three-foot by 16-foot bed was planted with herbs and flowers for all to use and enjoy.

Scott Brown, with the challenging job of digging post holes. (photo by Jude Hsiang)

As summer weather arrived, passersby saw the gardeners tending their beds. Week by week, the gardens became more colorful as marigolds, nasturtiums, cosmos, bachelor’s buttons, and zinnias appeared here and there among many varieties of lettuces, peppers, tomatoes, and squashes. When the dreaded Japanese beetles made their early July appearance they were attracted to the zinnias and easily caught. One gardener took some home as a snack for their ducks.

July 25 marked the first small delivery of vegetables to the China Food Pantry. The increasingly dry weather was a challenge, but by the season’s end, 147 pounds, 10 ounces of very fresh, very local, food was donated. The garden participated in the China Days celebration in early August with an informational display about this new community project. On August 18, the garden hosted University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Deborah Barnett for a talk on Quick & Easy Food Preservation. Her presentation was encouraging for those newer to canning and freezing and included tips for those who have been doing it for years.

As the first season of the China Community Garden drew to a close many gardeners enthusiastically made reservations for 2026 – some adding an additional bed. Garden members Marion Chasteen, Luther King, Susan Reilly, Sherry Spaulding, and Carol Thibodeau formed a committee to plan for the future. The plans include inviting new members in the spring as well as continuing to grow for the China Food Pantry.

Thanks to the support of the Town of China and the contributions of materials, money, and labor by local businesses and individuals, the China Community Garden celebrates its first year.

By July, things were growing well. (photo by Jude Hsiang)